Why is Texas hold 'em so popular? - James McManus

Translator: pamela lam Reviewer: Thomas Tam

Throughout the 1800s, in saloons across the West,

喺整個19世紀 西部酒吧入面，

you could find cowboys locked in tense standoffs.

你見到班牛仔 好緊張噉對峙。

But these weren’t shootouts.

但呢場唔係槍戰，

They were simply playing cards—

佢哋只係喺度玩緊牌；

for a mountain of chips worth their weight in gold.

為咗一堆山咁高、 等同黃金嘅籌碼。

Most men wore loaded pistols in case a player was caught cheating.

為咗防範有人作弊 大多數人都佩戴咗上膛嘅手槍。

When they prepared to make their bets, however,

然而，當佢哋準備落注嗰陣，

these cowboys weren’t focused on their holsters or their cards,

呢班牛仔並唔係將注意力 放喺槍套或啤牌度，

but rather on their opponent’s face.

而係放喺對手嘅面上。

Because not even a bullet could protect them from a well-executed bluff.

因為就算係子彈 都保護唔到

啲精心策劃嘅拋浪頭 所招致嘅損失。

From its earliest incarnations, poker has always been a battle of nerves.

由一開始，啤牌遊戲 一直係鬥膽量決勝負。

The game first emerged around 1800 in the melting pot of New Orleans.

最早喺大約1800年出現 喺新奧爾良——一個多元化嘅地方。

At this time, two games ruled the card tables:

嗰時，啤牌賭博有兩種玩法：

French poque played with a 20-card deck, and English Brag which used 52-cards.

使用20張牌嘅法式波克， 同使用52張牌嘅英式巴克。

Both these games saw players being dealt five cards from a four-suit deck,

呢兩種牌嘅玩家會從 四組唔同花嘅牌度得到五張牌，

and then trying to make the best hand possible according to a simple hierarchy.

然後根據簡單大細排序 盡力組合出一手最好嘅牌。

They would then wager on whether or not they had the best hand—

然後，佢哋會就住自己 係咪擁有最好嘅牌嚟落注，

either adding more money to the pot

一係增加多啲注碼，

or folding and forfeiting their chance to win it.

或者棄牌， 放棄赢錢嘅機會。

But since each player's cards were only revealed at the end of the hand,

但由於只有喺牌局結束嗰陣 每個玩家先開牌，

someone with bad cards could always bluff—

因此唔好牌嘅人， 總係可以拋浪頭，

betting enough to scare his opponents into folding.

加大注碼， 嚇到對手棄牌。

Both games had slightly different hand combinations, but most importantly,

呢兩種啤牌賭博 嘅玩法有啲唔同，

Brag allowed players to discard and draw new cards,

但最重要嘅係， 巴克允許玩家棄牌之後抽新牌，

making better hands more likely and allowing for another round of betting.

噉有機會獲得更好嘅一手牌， 同時亦允許新一輪嘅下注。

Eventually, the Southerners merged the two games

最終，南方人 合併咗呢兩種玩法

into a new version of poque— which they pronounced pokuh—

成為新版本嘅波克， 叫做波赫。

that created bigger pots and opportunities for more complex bluffing.

為呢種賭博創造更大嘅注碼， 同更複雜嘅拋浪頭機會。

This winning combination of guile, guts, and gambling caught on quickly.

呢種詭計、膽量同賭運氣 嘅成功組合好快就流行起嚟。

But its popularity skyrocketed after the invention of the steamboat,

但喺蒸汽船發明之後， 啤牌賭博受歡迎程度急劇上升，

which carried livestock, goods, and card games

蒸汽船將牲畜、 貨物同啤牌賭博，

up the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers.

沿住密西西比河、 俄亥俄河同密蘇里河一齊往外輸送。

By Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860,

喺1860年亞伯拉罕·林肯 當選總統嗰陣，

Americans in every state and territory were playing the newfangled bluffing game.

美國各州到處嘅人， 都係玩緊呢種新奇嘅拋浪頭遊戲。

And while many played for low, friendly stakes,

即使好多人係 以小賭怡情進行遊戲，

some gamblers put their homes and livelihoods on the line.

但有啲賭徒將自己 嘅身家性命都置諸度外。

These life-changing bets even found their way into popular novels

呢啲改變人生嘅賭注甚至出現 喺好似《亂世佳人》嘅流行小說中，

like “Gone with the Wind,”

where Scarlett O’Hara’s father wins an entire plantation

其中Scarlett O’Hara老豆 喺啤牌賭局度

in a single hand of poker.

贏得成個種植園。

But as pots became bigger, so did the temptation to cheat.

但隨住彩池（總押賭注）變得越大， 出千嘅誘惑隨之而增加。

Some players enlisted an accomplice to spy on opponents

一啲玩家請人監視對手，

and used props to communicate their hands.

並使用道具傳達 對方揸住啲咩牌。

Others marked important cards with nicks, dents, or invisible ink.

仲有人用划痕、凹痕 或者隱形墨水標記重要嘅牌。

But perhaps the most common method was sneaking a cold deck into the game.

但最通常做法，係喺遊戲中 偷偷放一副預先洗好嘅「冷牌」。

Cold decks were pre-sequenced to give victims powerful hands

冷牌預早編排好， 提供輸嘅玩家強大嘅牌面，

that encouraged them to bet big,

鼓勵佢哋落重注，

while giving the cheater an even better one.

同時都為出千嘅人 提供更好嘅牌。

However, even cheaters had to keep up with the game’s constant changes.

然而，就算係出千嘅人 都要跟上遊戲嘅不斷變化。

As poker moved west with the Gold Rush, new variants emerged.

隨住掘金熱向西發展， 啤牌玩法都出現新變數。

Five-card Stud became the game of choice

成為咗五張牌嘅話事啤

among notorious gunmen like Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok.

Doc Holliday、Wyatt Earp 同 Wild Bill Hickok 呢啲臭名遠播槍手嘅首選遊戲。

With four rounds of betting,

由於有四輪落注，

Five-card Stud produced even more lucrative pots,

五張牌嘅話事啤產生咗 更多累積豐厚嘅彩池，

encouraging so much cheating that California outlawed the game in 1885.

鼓勵更多人出千，以至於加利福尼亞州 喺1885年禁止呢種賭博。

Meanwhile, back in Texas, another variant emerged

與此同時，喺德州， 另一種玩牌變體應運而生，

to solve the common problem of having too many players and not enough cards.

解決咗一個常見問題： 玩家過多而牌唔夠。

This game, known as Texas Hold'em,

「德州話事啤」 之所以受歡迎，

became a favorite because its low ratio of private, hidden cards

係因為個人冚住啲暗牌

to shared, exposed cards

同開咗明牌嘅比例偏低，

allowed for plenty of deductions and tactical maneuvering.

可以進行大量嘅推論 同戰術操作。

Even more exciting was no-limit Hold’em, which allowed players to go all in,

更令人興奮嘅係、 德州話事啤係無限注碼，

佢俾玩家喺任何時候「曬冷」，

betting everything they had at any point in the hand.

將佢哋所有賭本 都押注喺手中嘅牌度。

In 1928, Hungarian polymath John von Neumann

1928年，匈牙利博學家 John von Neumann

sought to explain the nuances of betting and bluffing in mathematical terms.

試圖用數學術語解釋落注 同拋浪頭嘅細節。

His work became the foundation for a whole new branch of mathematics

佢嘅研究成為咗 新嘅數學博弈論，

called game theory,

which has grown to be vitally important not only in high-stakes poker,

唔單止喺高風險嘅啤牌遊戲度，

but in economics and military strategy.

喺經濟同軍事戰略度 變得舉足輕重 。

In the late 20th century, game theory became essential

喺二十世紀後期，

博弈論成為咗駕馭地緣政治 虛張聲勢核戰爭嘅軸心。

for navigating the geopolitical bluffing game of nuclear warfare.

Today, America’s card game is an international affair,

而家嘅美國啤牌遊戲 已經成為咗國際賽事，

attracting players from over a hundred countries

每年嘅世界撲克系列賽事

to the annual World Series of Poker.

吸引玩家嚟自過百個國家。

Fortunes are made and lost every day on casino floors, poker websites,

亦都喺賭場、玩啤牌網站 同埋數以千計喺現場同線上競技，

and in thousands of live and online tournaments.

每日無數人都有財富嘅輸贏。

So while a single game's outcome will never be certain,

因此，雖然一場賭博嘅結果 永遠都唔會確定，

poker is definitely here to stay.

但啤牌遊戲 肯定會繼續存在。